Emotional Marketing, Customer Retention, and Brand Loyalty in Vietnam’s Retail Sector: Unveiling the Moderating Impact of Digital Innovativeness

Abstract

This study investigates the relationship between emotional marketing, brand loyalty, and customer retention in Vietnam’s retail sector, while examining the moderating role of digital innovativeness, comprising personal and brand innovativeness. A conceptual model is developed and empirically tested using a sample of 533 Vietnamese retail consumers. The model incorporates emotional marketing as the main predictor, brand loyalty as the mediator, customer retention as the outcome, and digital innovativeness as the moderator. Relevant determinants of brand loyalty, such as customer satisfaction, perceived value, emotional attachment, and brand identity, are included as control variables. The data is analyzed using structural equation modeling. The results reveal that emotional marketing has a significant positive impact on brand loyalty, which in turn leads to higher customer retention. Digital innovativeness is found to positively moderate the relationship between emotional marketing and brand loyalty. The study highlights the importance of leveraging emotional marketing strategies and fostering digital innovativeness to build strong emotional connections, brand loyalty, and long-term customer retention in the Vietnamese retail market. This research contributes to the understanding of emotional marketing’s impact on brand loyalty and customer retention in the context of Vietnam’s retail sector, while uniquely exploring the moderating effect of digital innovativeness. The findings provide valuable insights for retailers seeking to optimize their marketing strategies and adapt to the evolving needs of Vietnamese consumers in the digital age.